Insulated assemblies presently known in the art incorporate the use of various polymeric substances in combination with other materials. One such assembly includes a butylated polymer in which there is embedded an undulating metal spacer. Although useful, this type of sealant strip is limited in that the metal spacer, over time, becomes exposed to the substrates which results in a drastic depreciation in the efficiency of the strip. The particular difficulty arises with moisture vapour transmission when the spacer becomes exposed and contacts the substrates.
Further, many of the butylated polymers currently used in insulated glass assemblies are impregnated with a desiccant. This results in a further problem, namely decreased adhesiveness of the butylated sealant.
Generally, the greater the amount of desiccant within the sealant the lower the adhesiveness of the sealant to the substrates. Evidently, if an improper seal or ineffective seal exists between two substrates positioned on the sealant strip, the capability of the strip to insulate is greatly limited with additional problems in the form of vapour condensation between the substrates interiorly of the assembly.
Other insulated assemblies employ sealant means which include polyurethane and silicone foams, shrink film hot compounds etc. which results in a bulky and expensive strip which adds even greater expense to an insulated assembly.
In view of the obvious limitations illustrated in the existing technology for insulated glass assemblies, there is a need for an assembly which provides strongly adhesive sealant means using lightweight, highly insulative materials which is additionally unaffected by exposure to ultraviolet light and the present invention fulfills this need.